Several attempts have been made to provide ergonomic solutions for workers which have to perform tasks in both raised and seated positions. In fact, some tasks can hardly be performed while the worker is completely seated since they require a substantial mobility from the user. Thus, over long periods of work such tasks can be very tiring for workers. Some seating devices have been developed so as to provide these workers with a further point of support in addition to their legs so as to stabilize the posture of their body, without being in a completely seated position. By using these devices a worker can thus perform tasks in a raised position and in an intermediate position so-called a sit-stand position. Some of these devices are thus called sit-stand stools or seats.
Examples of these sit-stand stools are sold by the company Steelcase™ under the name B Free™. This stool comprises a base made of a flexible material which allows a user to incline the stool at various angled positions in various directions while performing a task. The stability of the stool is maintained by means of the grip of the flexible material to the floor.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,130,263 describes a stool having a stem connected to a sand-filed base. The base comprises a flexible bag filed with sand and this base can change of shape in response to displacement of the bag produced by a tilting of the stem. However, this stool can be substantially heavy for some users in view of the amount of sand required to maintain its stability. Such a base can also be bulky and cause obstruction to a user's feet particularly when the person is not using the stool.
U.S. Published Application No. 2003/0164633 describes a sitting device comprising a seat, a stem and a floor-contacting element which acts as a base. The base has a point of apex and an outside edge which permits a user to incline or tilt the stool at various angled positions in various directions.
Some workers are however reluctant to use any one of the above-mentioned stools since they can be tilted or inclined in any directions at various angled positions and it may be difficult for a user to stabilize them. The tilting of the stem can eventually generate a lost of stability and the user can even fall down. Moreover, the grip of the base member to the floor can be reduced by dust or other impurities and can cause the stool to skid, thereby exposing a user to potential injuries. Also, since these stools can be tilted in considerably inclined positions, their use in some small workspaces such as the cashier's workspace behind a check-out counter may not be appropriate.
It is well known for ergonomists that it is sometimes difficult to convince workers to perform tasks in a different manner than the way they have been doing these tasks for many years. It is also difficult to convince them to use new tools or devices to perform these tasks. It has been demonstrated over the years that new solutions such as new methods or devices presented as alternative solutions to workers must be simple, easy to use, safe and must offer considerable advantages over the known methods or devices in order to be adopted or used by the workers. There is therefore a need to provide a seating device which would be simple, safe, easy to use and which would overcome the above mentioned drawbacks.